Ute went from smoke to flames in seconds

A suspected electrical fire inside a car forced a Wangaratta man to make a quick escape on the side of Wangaratta-Yarrawonga Road as his utility and thousands of dollars worth of camping supplies burned earlier this month. Brendan Crook just had a new battery put in his Nissan Navara around 11am on 6 September and set out to drive to Yarrawonga on Saturday to see his dad and watch the footy. The 23-year-old made it to about Killawarra when he noticed an electrical issue, so he turned around to go back to Wangaratta. He said his car had experienced similar issues recently and had hoped a new battery would resolve his problem. He parked on the side of the road, and after issues turning the vehicle ignition off and then on, he noticed smoke coming from behind the glove box, which by the time he moved outside and to the passenger door, became flames. Mr Crook said he grabbed everything he could from the boot of the Navara before the fire fully engulfed the vehicle. “We had to keep everyone back because it started exploding, airbags blew up and the second battery blew up, it was pretty wild,” he said. CFA and FRV firefighters attended the scene and helped contain the fire as well as many neighbouring farmers who saw the thick black plume of smoke in the air. “No one was hurt which was the main thing and it was nice a bunch of people stopped,” he said. “They just wanted to make sure I was alright and no one else was in the car. “Thankfully it didn’t happen three months from now in the middle of summer and a bit of silver lining was it didn’t light up any neighbouring properties or anything like that.” Lost in the fire was around $4000 worth of camping supplies including swags, a fridge, tools, a chainsaw, various cutlery and his wallet. He was able to save two jumpers, a toolbox and a jerry can. On a positive note, Mr Crook was able to make it to his dad’s place later that day and watch their beloved Hawks win a final in Sydney.

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